Anger

And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
Mark 3:5

Is it possible to be angry and not sin? We are all too familiar with anger. We get angry throughout the day in different degrees from slight agitation to heated fury. Anger does have it's place in our lives. After all Paul says, "be angry and do not sin".

One of the most fascinating places of Scripture for me is Mark 3:5. Reading through the Gospels we are confronted over and over with Jesus' love for people. Despite his compassion for those in need there are still those who are skeptical of him and who hate him. Even when people question him over and over again, he doesn't throw in the towel. His compassion only grows with a loving resolve. Mark records that Jesus was angry with those that stood around him with an accusing eye rather than a believing heart. His anger wasn't seething from a disgust for them. His anger was balanced by their lack of unbelief. Jesus was saddened for them.

Anger is going to flare up in our lives. The litmus test for us is to determine if we're angry because we've been offended or because we're acting out of compassion for others. I encourage you to meditate on Mark 3:1-6 today. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus wasn't deterred whatsoever in loving others in the face of conflict.